Land Clearing
Brush, trees, stumps and debris cleared off acreage and hauled away. We take the ground from thicket to usable.
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Mid South Mulch handles gravel driveway installation in Franklin, TN, for homes, barns, shops and acreage. We lay out the route, strip topsoil and soft ground off the path, and cut the subgrade to a crown. Side ditches carry water away, and a compacted crusher run base goes under a top layer of stone. We also rebuild old gravel driveways that have washed out or broken up into ruts and potholes.
Where the driveway crosses a roadside ditch, we set culvert pipe so the ditch keeps running under it. Our dump trucks bring the stone, and our excavators and compact track loader cut and shape the ground. Mid South Mulch has been in business since 1996, and our quotes are free and done on site.
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A new gravel driveway is built in layers, on ground that has been stripped and shaped. Where trees stand in the way, lot clearing opens the path first. The Federal Highway Administration's gravel roads guide says topsoil holds organic matter, which is never good for a road surface. Our excavators strip it off the path and dig out soft, wet spots before any stone goes down.
HomeGuide's 2026 guide puts the minimum depth for a gravel driveway at 5 to 6 inches, installed in layers. Most installs use a 3 to 4 inch crusher run base under 2 to 3 inches of top gravel. Driveways that carry trucks or RVs should be at least 8 to 12 inches deep, the guide adds. Compaction equipment packs each layer tight before the next layer goes on.
A gravel driveway sheds water through its crown, a raised center that tips rain off to the sides. That matters here, where the nearest National Weather Service station has a normal of 50.51 inches of precipitation a year. The federal guide recommends about 1/2 inch of crown per foot, roughly 4 percent. It describes a straight slope from each edge up to the center, shaped like the roof of a house.
We cut the subgrade to that crown and dig side ditches to catch the water it sheds. The federal guide calls the roadside ditch the most important drainage feature on a rural road. Where the driveway crosses a ditch, we lay culvert pipe right on the ditch's flow line.
We rebuild a washed-out gravel driveway by regrading it, reshaping the crown and ditches, then adding stone. The federal guide says water held in the surface leads to ruts that can reach down into the subgrade. It also warns that a rounded crown leaves the middle flat, and potholes and ruts form where water sits. Our excavators and track loader cut the surface back into shape and set the crown again.
Where the base has worn thin, we add crusher run and pack it before the top stone goes on. The federal guide wants surface gravel to hold 4 to 15 percent fines, the stone dust that binds it. If the driveway is sound and only needs fresh stone on top, gravel delivery by the load covers it. Building pads and yard regrades are our grading service, a separate job from the driveway.
Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) rules cover driveways onto state highways, and Franklin's zoning ordinance covers driveways inside city limits. The TDOT manual cites Tennessee Code 54-5-302: nobody may build a state highway entrance without the Department's agreement. That agreement is a highway entrance permit, and the manual puts getting it on whoever owns the property. Drainage pipe under the entrance must be at least 18 inches across and run past the driveway and its radius.
Inside Franklin city limits, zoning section 10.12.2 sets a home driveway at least 10 feet wide. Without a garage, or with a garage under 20 feet wide, it can be up to 20 feet wide. It sits at least 5 feet off an abutting lot line unless shared, and outside recorded utility or drainage easements. On a county road or in another town, ask before you build.
Free, no-obligation estimates across Williamson & Rutherford counties, south of Nashville.
(615) 599-7550From the first walk of the property to the final one, here is exactly how it goes.
We come out and walk the ground with you: what is growing, where the water goes, what the dirt is hiding, and what you actually want the property to become.
You get a free written quote with a real timeline. It names what happens to stumps, spoil and debris, and it flags risks like shallow rock before any machine rolls.
The equipment shows up when we said it would, machines and trucks both ours. We clear, dig, grade and haul to the plan, and you hear about anything unexpected immediately.
We walk the finished ground together. Grades checked, debris gone, surface left seed-ready or build-ready as the plan called for. Done means you say it is done.
Common questions about gravel driveways across Williamson & Rutherford counties, south of Nashville. Don't see yours? Give us a call, we're happy to help.
Brush, trees, stumps and debris cleared off acreage and hauled away. We take the ground from thicket to usable.
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Standing brush, cedar and saplings ground into a clean mulch layer right where they grew. No burn piles, no hauling, no torn-up topsoil.
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Building pads, gravel drives, yard regrades and drainage corrections. Dirt shaped so water moves away from what you care about.
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We install French drains and yard drainage across Williamson County, and we put the surface back when the trench is closed.
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Footers, basements, trenches, ponds and tear-outs. Excavators sized to the job, with our own trucks to move the spoil.
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Everything between raw land and the first pour: clearing, cut and fill, pad building, compaction and access. One company, build-ready ground.
Learn MoreBased on Lewisburg Pike in Franklin, working a 20-mile radius south of Nashville. Thirty years on this specific dirt, and the people who quote your ground run the machines on it.
Excavators, dozers, track loaders and our own dump trucks. Clearing, dirt work and hauling in-house means your job never stalls waiting on a subcontractor.
We look over the ground in person, price it in writing with a real timeline, and flag risks like shallow rock up front. The number holds unless the scope changes.
Clear it, grade it, haul it, landscape it: the same company owns the whole sequence, so nothing falls between contractors and the finish actually gets finished.
Overgrown lot, yard that will not drain, pad that needs cutting, or a landscape ready for a redo? Call or send the form and we will look over the ground with you and hand you a free written quote.
Tell us about your project and we’ll get right back to you.
